Sea Isle City to open renovated skate park Monday

Sea Isle City will debut its renovated skate park Monday at Dealy Field Recreational Center.

The new 6,666-square-foot park was built on the site of the city’s former skate park and features new banks, fencing, railings and ramps for skateboarders.

Katherine Custer, the city’s director of community services, said the old park, made of lumber and metal, was showing signs of age.

“It was getting considerably old and needed replacement,” she said. “That’s why the city investigated putting something state-of-the-art in there.”

In January, City Council hired California-based Spohn Ranch Inc., which has built ramps across the country, to redesign the park at a cost of nearly $140,000. A-Tech Concrete Co., of Edison, Middlesex County, completed construction at a cost of $103,000.

Much of the construction was completed late this month in time for Monday’s ribbon-cutting.

Sea Isle City has one of the few municipal-run skate parks in the area.

“Every community has skateboarders,” Custer said. “We see them up and down the sidewalks and in parking lots — why not give them a place they can go to enjoy their sport and not have any concern about getting in someone else’s way?”

Custer said the skate park also allows the city to better regulate skateboards, as park users are required to wear safety equipment, including helmets and elbow and knee pads.